Access for dog walkers has been closed on fields with livestock near Durrington Walls by Stonehenge following an increasing number of attacks on sheep.

The National Trust has restricted access to create some dog free zones after discussions with the tenant farmers who are concerned by the number of recent attacks on their flocks.

Jan Tomlin, General Manager for the National Trust in the Wiltshire countryside said: “A dog either worrying or attacking sheep is a crime, but despite this we’ve had an extended and particularly horrible period of sheep worrying with lambs being very badly injured on Trust land over the last month or so.

“The way it has increased is shocking and the injuries are very nasty. It’s not just lambs being attacked, we’ve had ewes and even a ram being found injured.”

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Over recent years the Trust has tried extensive signage to encourage people to control their dogs and while many people do, the incidents of sheep worrying have increased.

The Trust allows permissive access for people to walk freely in some of the fields it cares for but has now closed that access for anybody walking dogs in fields where livestock graze at Durrington and also the Cursus and Avenue fields at Stonehenge.

So far the Trust has found that dog walkers are disappointed by the restriction but generally accepting that the actions of a few have spoilt the access for everybody.

Local farmer Hugh Morrison has taken to carrying needles and sutures with him when he inspects his flocks, because he expects to find injuries needing immediate attention.